The Spire

the electronic newsletter of

First Parish of Norwell,

Unitarian Universalist

In - Spire - ing News UUs Can Use

February 28, 2024

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In This Issue

Sunday Worship

Courageous Conversation

Invitation to Practice Together

Spiritual Snack

Caring Corner

New Member News

Scheduling Notes

Easter Sunday Celebration

New Members/Visitors Series

Gratitude and Grief Group

Stewardship for Us

Talent Show

Parenting Workshops

Book Group

Lunchtime Poetry Group

Yoga

Multiplatform Services on

Sundays at 10 am

Rev. Susan Chorley preaching

unless indicated otherwise

The Soul Matters Theme for March is Transformation

March 3: "Our Growing Edges"

Jim Gavin, worship associate

How the places we may feel uncomfortable or awkward can open us to growth

March 10: "The Story of My Country"

Rev. Paul Sprecher, guest minister

JP Bourque, worship associate

Many of us are wrestling with how to understand the history of the United States in light of what we are coming to learn about the history of Black Lives and Indigenous lives and the lives of those who have been marginalized -- not to mention women's lives. After so much oppression, what's left to love?

Daylight Savings Time starts today. Remember to 'spring forward" one hour!

March 17: Transformed Through Giving (Stewardship Sunday)

John Hughes, worship associate

Through all the ways we give, we are transforming self and the community

March 24: Gratitude and Grief

(Palm Sunday)

Beverly Gardner, worship associate

Exploring the depth of gratitude life offers us, even (perhaps especially?) through struggle and challenge

March 31: Longing for Alleluia

(Easter Sunday)

Tom Yardley, worship associate

Spring and Easter are our annual reminder that death and violence will not have the final word

Please see the Easter Sunday Celebration article for more information on the Easter Breakfast and egg hunt for the little ones.

click here to join any Sunday in March

Meeting ID: 831 8312 7593

Passcode: Transform

Dial by your location

+1 305 224 1968

Meeting ID: 831 8312 7593

Please send your joys and concerns to Rev. Susan by 8:30 am on Sundays. be sure to tell her if your news can be shared with the congregation or if it should be kept private. The 4th Sunday of each month will include am "open mic" component to Joys and Concerns.

Courageous Conversation

Sunday, March 3 at 11:30 am in the Fogg Parlor led by Rev. Susan

(childcare is provided)

An opportunity to share in conversation on what our growing edges are personally as well as within our congregation. Historically Protestants are “protestors” – and though that is an admirable trait, it can often create a dynamic of “us” and “them.” Some questions we may explore

What are the ways you can imagine us growing to include rather than exclude?
How are you seeing our community change over the last few years?
What are your big dreams for the future of this community of faith?

An Invitation to Practice Together

The Christian season of Lent began on Wednesday, February 14 and continues until Easter which this year falls on Sunday, March 31. Many Christians honor this time by giving up something or withdrawing a bit from the distractions of life.

Rev. Susan invites us to consider setting aside some time each day for a sacred practice and has created a calendar of suggestions for each day. The practices range from 3 minutes to 1 hour - and everything in between. The purpose of the time is to slow down, get connected with beauty and care, art and imagination - and to notice what happens within you as you return each day over the course of the 4 weeks.

Though this is special/sacred set aside time for you, you are welcome to share it with others - perhaps members of your family, perhaps a friend.

Above all, these practices are not a demand - but rather an invitation to us all as we move towards Spring to nurture our soul as it awakens from Winter.

click here to view the calendar

Spiritual Snack

Hear me as a woman

Have me as your sister

On purpled battlefield breaking day,

So I might say our victory is just beginning,

See me as change

Say I am the movement,

That I am the year,

And I am the era

of the women

from Won't You Be My Sister by Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology.

Caring Corner

Sending love and care to Jen Sulc and the entire Sulc family following her hospitalization earlier this month.

New Member News

Welcome to new member Megan Sahillioglu who signed the book on Sunday, February 18. Megan and her husband Ufook live in Hanover

Staff Scheduling Notes

Rev. Susan will be visiting family in NC and working remotely March 5-8. If you should have a pastoral emergency, please contact Office Administrator, Hope Weinman or Marcia Babcock from the Congregational Care Team.

Donna McDonald will be on vacation March 13-15.

Hope Weinman will be on vacation March 19-22.

Easter Sunday Celebration – March 31

All are invited to an in the Parish Hall. Bring something to share for breakfast – a traditional breakfast casserole or something else you enjoy for breakfast. Sign up to bring something here. (The choir will eat at 8:45 so they can practice afterward.) If you would like an aluminum pan and/or a recipe for breakfast casserole, see Peg Kitchenham.

Our worship service will honor the season of renewal and rebirth in many faiths, and our RE programming will focus on four charities that help kids locally and globally. The service will be followed by an egg hunt where children will find both candy and tokens inside their eggs. They will put the tokens they collect into four jars representing the charities they learned about, and the Fogg Committee will match their tokens with donations to those charities. Kids will leave with a basketful of candy and the satisfaction of having supported charities they helped to choose.

We are excited to celebrate a very UU Easter with all of you, incorporating a shared meal, world faith traditions and community service into one fun morning. Please feel free to bring friends to celebrate with us!

New Member/Visitors Series

Sundays March 17, April 28 and May 19 from 11:30 am-12:30 pm in the Fogg Parlor

All new members or those considering joining First Parish of Norwell are invited to a monthly series beginning in March. The sessions will include information about what it means to be Unitarian Universalist, history of our congregation, information on church governance and leadership as well as the details around how stewardship and budgeting happens each year. If you would like to join one or all of these sessions, please let Rev. Susan know. Thank you!

New Weekly Series on Mondays in March - Gratitude and Grief

Feelings of grief and gratitude co-exist among all humans throughout the course of our lives. In fact, both experiences reveal to us our deep love for and connection to self, others and the world.

Through different modalities of meditation, art, music and poetry - we will explore together the transformative possibilities within grief and gratitude - making space for personal reflection. Join us on Mondays, March 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 12-1 pm in the Fogg Parlor.

This group will be co-led by Rev. Susan and Gabe Millins.

From the Parish Committee

We are looking forward to our Next Steps weekend on April 5-7 with Stewardship for Us. In preparation, we're asking everyone (even if you're not a member) to complete the following survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5FJNN9B

Thank you in advance for your participation. If you missed our last email on February 9th about this process, be sure to check it out here.

You can also learn more here: https://stewardshipforus.com/

Warmly,

Elizabeth Robinson, Derek Sulc, and your Parish Committee

Alliance Book Review

Wednesday, March 20

at 10 am

Live in the Fogg Parlor and on Zoom

Please join us in the Fogg Parlor for a Book Review by Marcia Babcock. An avid reader, she will discuss a group of new novels and poetry. We will also have refreshments. Newcomers welcome and needed.

click here to join remotely

Meeting ID: 859 6099 4344

Passcode: 518098

Let’s Include Everyone: Talent Show March 9

Our laid-back low-key all-ages Talent Show will be Saturday, March 9 at 6 pm in the Parish Hall. Please come out and enjoy performances from your First Parish friends! This year’s theme is INCLUSIVITY: all are welcome to participate, we’ll sing a song about including everyone, and we’ll raffle off some great books about inclusion. We’ll also accept donations at the door for Bridging Independent Living Together (https://biltne.org/), a non-profit based in Lowell that provides support services for individuals with disabilities in order to maximize their community inclusion.

Want to get in on the act? We would love more participants! We have people signed up to sing, play piano, breakdance, and tell stories – what can you share with us? Contact Amanda Adams to sign up.

Save the Dates -

Mental Health Action Team Virtual Workshops

Sunday, March 17 at 7:30 pm: "Social Media and Socializing" with Dr. Elizabeth Englander, Founder and Executive Director of Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University .

This talk will examine how kids are doing emotionally and socially, in light of the ways kids use screens, gaming, and social media, and how these impact challenges in school, like bullying and friendship skills. Research will be summarized, and practical approaches to family life that can help children develop emotional resilience, healthy social skills and friendships, and sensible screen and social media habits will be discussed during this presentation. We will discuss how to move forward to a healthier "new normal" and how to help parents be most productive in guiding their children.

click here to join the March 17 workshop

Meeting ID: 822 7034 6972

Passcode: 425226

Sunday, April 28 at 7 pm: Mental Health and Addiction webinar led by AnnMarie Galvin, Project Director of Scituate FACTS (Families, Adolescents and Communities Together Against Substances) and Mark Mulhern, Executive Director of South Shore Peer Recovery. More details and the Zoom link will be shared closer to the event.

First Parish of Norwell Book Group

Please join us for any or all of our monthly book discussions. We meet on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm on Zoom.

Monday, March 18: “Rough Sleeper” by Tracy Kidder

click here to join

Meeting ID: 847 0898 5879

Passcode: Bookworms

Monthly Lunchtime Interfaith Poetry Series

Rev. Susan will be leading an Interfaith Poetry Group on a monthly basis this year. On the second Thursday of each month from 12-1 pm we will learn about a unique world religion, as well as a poet who represents that religion. We will then read a poem by that poet and reflect on its meaning for us in this moment as well as its illustration of the religion we are centering. Join us for a lovely and unique way to learn together through the arts. Our meeting dates for the rest of the church year are: March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13.

Yoga

The Mental Health Action Team is sponsoring yoga classes on Thursdays at 7 pm in the Parish Hall. This is a relaxing, restorative class. The instructor, Susan Walsh, teaches for all levels and is skilled at offering options for injuries or other special needs. The class is $10 per week. Bring your yoga mat!